Well, I'm happy to say that last Monday I was informed that I earned the OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) certification. I'm really happy since the hacking challenge was difficult. I mean, it's no easy task. I took this course as a supplement for the CEH cert and I'm happy that I did.

The "Offensive Security 101" is unlike any other ethical hacking course that exist today. From the comfort of your own home, you'll be able to learn and gain knowledge of important skills and techniques that is required for today's security professional in protecting their networks by applying offensive security. From scanning to enumerating, to password cracking to creating your own exploit, this basic course covers it all. You will have the options to connect Offensive Security lab remotely and apply your newly developed skills. How awesome is that. You really get a feel of the real thing. I must say, before taking this course I was skeptical --will I understand the materials, if I get stuck on a topic, will I be able to get some help, will I have the time to attend the course from my busy schedule. Well this Offensive Security folks really put their time and effort in tailoring this course for people exactly like me. The courses are pre-recorded sessions so that you can view the material on your own pace. You can rewind, forward and pause the video to really get a grasp of what the instructor is teaching. If you don't understand or have a question on a particular subject, Offensive Security staff have setup an IRC channel where you can communicate with the instructors or other students that are taking the course. Moreover, Offensive Security has a forum where students can post their questions, comments or what ever is in your mind and feel confident that you will receive a speedy response from either the instructors or students. For an additional small fee you will be able to take the hacking challenge online where you will be tested on your newly developed skill as an ethical hacker. No multiple choice, no vague questions, only pure hands-on hacking to an unfamiliar network. Upon completion, you will earn the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) which demonstrates your competency in the penetration testing field. Which makes this certification distinctive from any other such as the CEH in where it actually proves practical ethical hacking skills.

After just 2 weeks of attending the course and going over the exercises, I was able to accomplish tasks that I thought was impossible for me. This course really pushes your limits and helps you develop the necessary skills and knowledge to defend today's network from notorious hackers. I highly recommended.

At the mean time, Offensive Security is offering introductory prices on their courses. For additional information, please refer to their site:

I've been looking at it and considering taking it since it was introduced, but I wanted to get my CEH out of the way first. I watched the demo video and was pretty impressed with it. I'd like to buy the video course when I can afford it and then possibly take the certification exam.

Yeah, I really liked the course, it was very intuitive and straight forward. If you decide to take the course, I recommend the lab extended training so you can practice the tools offered in BT against different types of OS, but most importantly is the exercises that OffSec provides within the lab manual. It challenges on what you have learn and more. Some of the exercises are design to make the students use its creativeness and research skills. Plus these exercises are worth points towards your cert exam if by any chance you're borderline.

but exam is a stranger network to attack, you have 24hrs to attack this network. i have taken the course and labs. i assure to you is a hard course, and offensive-security staff say "certification challenge is a HARD exam".

a few of information will be well received . offensive-security staff has total silence about exam >:( >:( .

If you took the course and did all the exercises, you'll be fine. My tip for you is to get a lot of rest the day before the exam. Review the videos and lab manual ,especially topics that are a bit hard for you. As I was studying, I emphasized on topics such as creating fuzzer and exploit code, working with exploit codes, how to look and research for them as well. The exam contains several objectives. If you are stuck with any one them, move on to the next objective as you can always work on it later. Remember, you have 24 hours. Be organized, document your findings in a leo file. As this will help you go back to the ones you were having trouble with.

When I took the challenge, I started at 10:00 in the morning and had nothing significant by 5:00 in the afternoon. I started to panic a little, saying to myself that I was not going to pass the exam. I paused, and stood up for a walk inside my house and decided to take a rest to ease my mind. After resting for about an hour, I went at it again and I started to gain results. Within the next 2 hours I completed 2 objectives and I was on the roll. It felt good. What I'm trying to say is if this happens to you, relax, take it easy. Rest if you need to. There's more than enough time to complete all objectives.